Federal Contractors/Technology: PHEBE NOVAKOVIC

Novakovic attributes Reston-based General Dynamics’ fiscal 2021 revenue of $38.5 billion to the company’s focus on operating performance while protecting the health and safety of the contractor’s 101,600 employees worldwide.

A former employee of the CIA and the federal Office of Management and Budget, Novakovic has led the Fortune 100 aerospace and defense contractor since 2013. She’s often ranked on Fortune’s list of the world’s most powerful women, making No. 20 in 2021. She was Virginia Business’ Business Person of the Year in 2020.

Novakovic also worked for two deputy defense secretaries during the Clinton administration before joining General Dynamics in 2001.

A graduate of Smith College and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Novakovic serves on the board of trustees for the Center for Strategic and International Studies and chairs the council of the Association of the U.S. Army.

Alongside winning the largest Navy contract ever — a $24.2 billion multiyear order — to construct Virginia-class nuclear submarines, General Dynamics’ IT division in March announced it received a $4.5 billion contract to provide cloud and other services to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.